


Siren Diamonds

by HaroThar



Series: She-ra but with Quadrants [3]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Background Entrapta/Scorpia, Background Mermista/Sea Hawk, Background Relationships, Caretaking, Cuddling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Humans with Quadrants, Hurt/Comfort, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Scorpia gets good things, Shoosh-Papping, Shopping, Titty Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:15:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21776620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaroThar/pseuds/HaroThar
Summary: What happened in the Northern Reach, that meant something.As the group disperses to be with their diamonds, Sea Hawk and Scorpia have a night (well, afternoon) on the town, shopping and talking and, just maybe, making a diamond of their own.
Relationships: Scorpia & Sea Hawk (She-Ra)
Series: She-ra but with Quadrants [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567906
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Siren Diamonds

**Author's Note:**

> In this AU, Scorpia was there for the rescue of Entrapta, and the two started dating in hearts shortly after.

Sea Hawk didn’t… care for failure. It didn’t sit well with him, didn’t really _fit_ with his image. To be such a swashbuckling sailor as he and limp away defeated? Preposterous! It just, it just wasn’t his thing. He was much better suited to victory and the dashing posturing of success. His feet, although propped up against the war table with an air of relaxed confidence, tapped with agitation. 

He could’ve kept going. Given Mermista’s head and arm, he was glad they hadn’t, but he _could_ have kept fighting, maybe held the line in Sinclet so that they hadn’t lost a valuable territory on top of failing to secure a new one. He rubbed his left hand up and down Mermista’s uninjured arm, where he had it wrapped around her as she leaned into his side. She was lucky to not be concussed. The lump on her head would be tender for a few days yet, but a couple lumps and bruises were vastly preferable to a concussion. Even if Sea Hawk knew she’d be absolutely livid about the sprained wrist limiting her abilities while it healed.

She’d get a good scar out of this though. Nice and long down the bicep. Real badass.

To his right was his… almost-possibly-maybe diamond, sitting on Emily with her mad heart in her lap. What Sea Hawk and Scorpia had found in the Northern Reach—it had been real. It had _meant_ something, at least to him. They’d been on opposite sides of a two-generation war, fighting over the ~~drunkard~~ sick princess between them, cold and isolated and miserable, each, and still they’d found, like the parting of clouds after a sea storm, a way past that to each other. What he had shared with Scorpia, she’d listened to. More than that, she felt, oftentimes, the same. She’d indulged in his self-pity but had not left him wallowing in it, helped him out of his funk and inspired him to face his problems head on, as he’d watched her face down hers. And, while Sea Hawk knew he was prone to arrogance, leaned into it, really, he did not feel that he was stretching his imagination at the thought that he’d been the one to help her, first.

Even on opposite sides, they’d inspired each other to be better.

Sea Hawk wanted, really, really wanted, that to happen again, more, now that they were on the same side.

She was just so… superb! Caring, and brave, with great hugs! A good listener, a good friend, even to the cold and washed up enemy sitting across from her, even to the spitting cat that valued victory more than her own life. And in battle, haha! Those Horde types were not foolhardy in making her a Force Captain; she was near unstoppable on the field. She’d been caught off guard at the start of the most recent fight, bleeding from a headwound all through it, and even still she’d taken out, what? Fourty? Fifty Hordesmen? Sea Hawk knew that she could’ve kept going, too, that the sound of retreat had come as an aggravation to her, her tail swishing with unspent venom and a need to strike, to push. 

That tail was still swishing, now, at the war table. Yes, less vigorously, but swishing, her own feet tapping just the same as Sea Hawk’s were. Scorpia, she was a lot like Adora, in many ways. Sea Hawk chalked it up to Horde-rearing, frightful stuff, but their commanding presence, their doggish pursuit of goals (if vastly different methods (except when a situation called for hitting things really hard with a sword or claw, then their methods were quite alike)), they were similar. As Entrapta tinkered with something or other, blithely ignoring the debriefing, Scorpia stared at her commanding officers with laser focus, the intensity of her eyes something Sea Hawk had previously only really seen in Adora. While Sea Hawk spaced out of the meeting, thinking about his heart on his left and his _something_ on the right, Scorpia was no doubt memorizing every word.

“Good. Now that we’ve debriefed, we can start planning what we’ll do next. We’re getting Sinclet back, and then we _will_ take Attaman,” Glimmer said with determination, recapturing Sea Hawk’s attention as she stood. While Sea Hawk was definitely, absolutely for it, Mermista groaning at his side prompted a token protest from him. His dear, sweet Mermista needed to recover! 

“Alright,” Bow half-shouted as he stood, reclaiming the room. Good man, Bow! “Alright, everyone deep breath! Glimmer, I love you so much; no. Adora,” he leveled his palms at the two as he spoke, and Sea Hawk once again wondered what was going on between the three of them, “before you say anything, also no. You’re worse about pushing yourself than Glimmer is; you’re the least qualified to weigh in here.”

Bow turned to the group and focused on a point just behind Sea Hawk’s ear. “Everyone, the discussion on what to do will need to happen soon.” Less good man, Bow! Consider Mermista! “The Horde has a history of pushing the advantage; they’re not going to wait for us. Glimmer and Adora are right. But we’re all in no shape to do that at the current moment. Everyone here needs to go get water, or juice, and a lot of it. Following immediately after that should be food, and a nap,” Bow glanced at Adora, and Sea Hawk thoughtfully stroked his mustache, “Provided you’re capable of taking one. Make sure all your wounds are tended to, and if you have a diamond, go to them.”

Sea Hawk shivered, and glanced to his right. Scorpia was still just as focused, the hard lines of her large and spiky body still tense (could Sea Hawk bleed that tension from those lines? Get her to unwind, to laugh again?). She did not glance at him. 

“Better make it five,” Glimmer said in response to something Sea Hawk had missed. He promptly, though intentionally this time, resumed ignoring that little gaggle as they gathered into a group hug, and took his feet off the table with two sharp thuds. Stretching, he detached himself from his beloved Mermista and stood. 

“My dear, sweet Mermista, is there anything I can do for you while you are in such a weakened state?” Sea Hawk asked with a low bow, and Mermista scoffed. Sea Hawk did not miss the way she smiled, though, just a moment, just a little, trying to hide it with an open mouth and rolled eyes.

“Yeah, clear the room so I don’t have to listen to all you losers babbling anymore. I swear, it’s like you all got a degree in how to make headaches worse or something.”

Sea Hawk raised a thumb and pointed it to his chest. “Can do!” he shouted much less loudly than he normally would, but with no less vigor. He spun and stared down his next challenge. Well, he’d not gotten Mermista’s heart by being shy, and he doubted diamonds came coyly. “Scorpia! Come to the kitchen with me!”

“Oh? Okay, yeah, sure,” she said agreeably, setting Entrapta down on top of Emily and kissing her temple. Entrapta lifted a lock of hair and “kissed” Scorpia’s cheek in return, eyes never leaving whatever mad science project her little mad science brain was so currently enamored with. “Gosh, food sounds, like, _amazing_ right now, I am so munchy,” Scorpia said as they walked together, passing Perfuma and Bow, Sea Hawk’s manly swagger perfectly matched to Scorpia’s pace. You’d think someone with such long legs would move a little faster but speed did not seem to be Scorpia’s strong suit. Agility and dexterity both, really, not her thing.

Sea Hawk was remembering these things. Little details he usually wouldn’t pay attention to. He remembered things with Mermista, how she said her favorite flavor of ice cream was choco-mint but she always picked strawberry when it was available, how she had a passion for the protection and safekeeping of wildlife but didn’t bring it up without prompting, how her nose scrunched up when she laughed. He’d collected tiny memories with Swen, back when they’d still sailed together, the first time Sea Hawk had played the diamond song and dance.

He wanted this diamond to last longer than his first. He wanted this diamond… a lot.

“Fighting always does work up an appetite!” Sea Hawk agreed with a sagely nod, actually only noticing it now. “And I am a man with a healthy appetite,” he said with a pat to his belly. With a sharp point of both hands he cried, “FORWARD TO ADVENTURE! And snacks!”

“And snacks!” Scorpia echoed with a smile, though no laughter from her. Yet. If Sea Hawk could pierce the impenetrable exterior of Mermista’s harsh facades to see the sweetest smile underneath, he felt confident he would see Scorpia laughing by the end of this day.

“So, are we supposed to like, use this time to sleep because we won’t be sleeping tonight, or?” Scorpia asked, lifting an inquisitive claw to her chin. “Sorry if I ask too many questions, but everything is just, gah, so different here, I’m still trying to get used to it all.”

“We will very likely have a very late night tonight,” Sea Hawk admitted less-than-happily, “But I think the order to nap was to make up for last night’s late night, which was,” Sea Hawk made a high noise, gesturing vaguely, “More like an all-nighter, really.”

“Ohhh, that, that’s really nice, actually, okay,” she said, sounding pleased. Sea Hawk clapped her on the back and held his thumb and forefinger to his chin.

“And worry not on asking questions. I am all-too-familiar with the sensation of finding yourself in uncharted seas, myself. I know how it goes.”

“Come again?” Scorpia said, head tilting, “You’re—you were never Horde!” Scorpia said, and Sea Hawk placed his hands on his hips and laughed.

“No, no, that is true. That inspector bit was just a ruse,” he said, leaning in with the back of his hand to his mouth, as though conspiring. “But,” he said, hooking his arms behind his head, “I _am_ familiar with feeling new. I’m not originally from here, either.”

“You’re not?” Scorpia asked, and her tone made him look up, look at her face, which had gone softly inquisitive. Open.

There it was again. The sweet tension between them, the thing, the _thing!_ The thing that made Sea Hawk’s diamond flutter behind his ribs, the thing that made him want to place his hand on her strong and heavy claw and talk to her, forget the rest of the world was even there. They’d found, like two moons passing, another point of connection.

“I, uh, had to move, to Seaworthy,” Sea Hawk admitted, “Ran into some trouble, back where I’m from. Had to say a quick goodbye to all the friends I still had and pack in a hurry. I recovered admirably, of course,” Sea Hawk said with bluster, puffing out his masculine chest, “Nothing keeps Sea Hawk down for long! But, I admit, it. It was maybe a less-than easy… less-than-adventure, having to suddenly uproot and move to a new place where I didn’t know anyone, and, everything was different.”

“You’re telling me,” Scorpia said, voice heavy and tired, and Sea Hawk reached for her back at the same moment she reached for his shoulder. They caught in a moment of surprise, looking at each other’s wide eyes, and then they shared a snort and chuckle. 

“Well, you’ve got me, and I’ve got your back,” Sea Hawk announced with a proud thumb to his boob window. 

“And I appreciate that; you’re a good friend.”

Sea Hawk preened, chin raising. Heck YEAH he was. And this was the person he wanted to hear that from the most. 

The kitchen, as they entered it, was relatively quiet. Bright Moon’s head chef was there, as was that lovely pastry maiden from Dryl, but it seemed everyone else was either out to lunch or running errands. Scorpia and Sea Hawk waved hello, receiving cheerful greetings in return. Sea Hawk knew the pastry dame liked Scorpia a lot, both for the reasons regarding her old boss, as well as Scorpia’s natural likability. 

The high sound of magic was, as it always was, Sea Hawk’s only warning before Glimmer was suddenly right there, right next to him, _again,_ and he shrieked in alarm, then cleared his throat. “You _really_ need to _warn_ a man!” Sea Hawk scolded, needing to clear his throat again.

Glimmer levelled him with a squint, and he squinted back. She might be the Queen of Bright Moon and the Rebellion and technically outrank him in every capacity, but he was _Sea Hawk!_ ALL women were queens as far as he was concerned, and therefore equal to each other. Which meant he could do all the squinting he darn well pleased.

“Ugh, whatever, hand me the fruit bowl, will you?” Glimmer said with a scowl, and Sea Hawk turned, noticing the bowl just outside of Glimmer’s hilariously tiny reach, and got it down for her with an “oh, sure.”

She disappeared again not long after, Sea Hawk trying to remember what he’d been talking about before she arrived and ever so rudely startled him out of his train of thought.

“Pig in a blanket?” Scorpia offered, holding out a plate to him and breaking his line of thought once more. Oh right, food. “Or, I think that’s what she called these, I’m not actually familiar with them.”

“Yes, yes that’s the right term,” Sea Hawk said, taking the plate from her and eagerly shoving three into his mouth in a go.

“Sweet. I definitely like these better than the lettuces,” Scorpia said, popping one into her mouth as well.

“Lettuce has its time and place, but it really isn’t that great, it is true,” Sea Hawk agreed. The full sum of the roll-wrapped sausages were gone in the blink of an eye, and so the two of them broke into some of the other options.

“You know, in the Horde, we never had stuff like this,” Scorpia said, shovelling cheesy mashed potatoes into her mouth. She was large enough that she was using a serving spoon as a regular spoon. It struck Sea Hawk as both hilarious and adorable.

“Potatoes?” Sea Hawk asked, chewing on the skin.

“All of it,” Scorpia said, gesturing. “We ate ration bars. I think the grey ones were meat-based?” Scorpia shrugged and packed away the remainder of her potatoes. “When Entrapta first moved in, I imported baking materials from subjugated territories to bake her cupcakes. Definitely the best idea I’ve ever had, they tasted so good,” Scorpia said with a chuckle. “And oh, there was Princess Prom! I, like, gorged myself. I’m surprised I could even kidnap anyone,” she laughed a little harder, and Sea Hawk chuckled along. He’d been at the buffet for a large part of the start of the party, too, before the dancing, and now that he was thinking about it, he _did_ remember her just shovelling it all in. Not that he was any better, in that aspect, he ate an entire platter of snow peas.

“Say,” Sea Hawk said, knocking back a tankard of cider. She’d worn that lovely ballgown at the party, and she’d looked positively fabulous. But her Horde uniform… Although the Horde symbol had been taken off the back with a seam ripper, it still wasn’t really… it didn’t quite, well, _suit_ her. “You’re not with the Horde anymore,” he started.

“Yes, that is true.”

“You should update your wardrobe!” Sea Hawk said, rising, one foot on the ground and the other on the chair he’d been in. “Your old Horde uniform has loose threads on the back, I say we get you something snazzy!”

Scorpia blushed and took a quick drink, looking away from him. “Aw, gee, that’d be, I mean, yeah, I’d like that, but, um.” She gestured to herself. “I’m sorta… custom-order.”

“What do you mean?” Sea Hawk asked, unperturbed.

“I’m—big? And I can’t wear sleeves unless they’re, like, _really_ custom-made, and my tail has a large base, thicker than most of the lizalfolk, and, ah, I just, don’t really fit into any kind of standardized clothing. Haven’t since I was ten.”

“Well that’s all sorts of hogwash and nonsense,” Sea Hawk said, stepping down from the chair and facing her fully, hands on his hips. His face lit up with a brilliant idea. “Let’s hit the town! We can have a night out! A boy-girl’s night out! In the afternoon!”

Sea Hawk grabbed her claws and pulled her to her feet, Scorpia following but still not seeming convinced. “I really don’t think we’re going to find anything I can wear,” she said, and glanced down at herself, “And people might not, uh, might not like seeing me. I’m. I’ve got a kind of, memorable silhouette, and, the people here, they,” Scorpia’s face was doing the opposite of what Sea Hawk wanted it to be doing, and his palms itched to pap her cheek, soothe her, gentle his voice down low and tell her it would be _fine,_ “I was Horde,” Scorpia finished lamely.

“And now you’re not,” Sea Hawk said simply, rubbing a palm over her claw. “You’re someone who had the bravery and moxy to leave that place, and you’re a friend and ally to us now.”

Scorpia looked at him, her eyes searching his face, and when she spoke it was in a high whine. “It _can’t_ be that simple!”

“There was nothing simple about what you did,” Sea Hawk stated agreeably, “But, if you’re worried about people seeing you and getting antsy, then that’s all the more reason why we should make a distinct visual shift! Onward, to shopping!” he called boisterously, and Scorpia sighed with a breathy chuckle.

“Yeah, okay. But if anyone starts freaking out we leave immediately.”

“Deal,” he said, holding out a hand, and feeling pleasant shivers when she clasped it, grinning at him. He liked it when she was feeling spunky, liked when she grinned like that. Made him want to fight giant arctic bugs. Or go shopping.

As they left, Sea Hawk filched a couple pears and handed one to Scorpia, who liked how juicy they were.

And yes, they drew looks. Sea Hawk knew it wasn’t entirely due to how roguishly good-looking he was. It also wasn’t entirely due to how strikingly beautiful Scorpia was—although that’s definitely what the little green-haired faun damsel was staring about.

So yes, Scorpia was maybe still arousing some suspicion. But if they had all gotten used to Adora then they should hurry up and get used to Scorpia, too! A protective and distinctly pale feeling rose in him, and he let himself ride that wave of emotion, neither suppressing or encouraging it.

“So! Colors, what sort of colors are we thinking?” Sea Hawk started amicably as they wandered further into Bright Moon’s capitol city, away from the castle and the rebel camp set up in a wide arc around it.

“Oh, gee,” Scorpia said, presented with altogether too many options. “I really haven’t worn anything other than various shades of red grey and black. Green, maybe?”

“Green could work, green could work,” Sea Hawk agreed with a nod, “You know, my dearest Mermista wears lots of greens and blues and they look _amazing_ on her.”

“White, would be nice, maybe. Though, knowing me,” a self conscious chuckle, “I’d probably spill something all over it.”

“White can definitely be on the table!”

“Purple’s… pretty,” Scorpia said, a little blush and a small smile.

“Oo hoo hoo, thinking of matching with someone specific?” Sea Hawk teased with waggling eyebrows. He got a hearty thunk on the back for his playfulness, and it actually knocked him forward.

“Oh, shoot, sorry, that was probably way too hard,” Scorpia apologized immediately, claws up to her chin, and Sea Hawk “pfffft!”ed loudly at her.

“Nonsense! I am Sea Hawk! I am made of tougher stuff than that.” He saw, rapid fire, surprise, then realization, then delight on Scorpia’s features.

“Hey, so, I know Glimmer and Bow get worried when Adora spars too often, but so far she’s the only person who’s really been able and willing to take me a few rounds in the training ring. Maybe you and I could..?”

“YES!” Sea Hawk said with sparkling eyes. Oh, he did love a good bout of fisticuffs. And Scorpia had quite the fists to cuff, haha!

“Aw, yeah, super—sup—hey, what should we call ourselves? I can’t use super pal trio because that’s Entrapta Emily and me.”

“Hm,” Sea Hawk hummed thoughtfully, folding his arms and lifting a hand to his chin. “Lobster.”

“Lobster?”

“Are they not just mermaids for scorpions? I’ll bring the sea, you bring the scorpion. Sea-scorpion. Lobster.”

A beat as they walked into the commercial area of the city, Scorpia and Sea Hawk staring at each other.

“That’s BRILLIANT!”

“I know!” Sea Hawk bragged.

“Lobster pal duo is gonna spar!” Scorpia cheered with twin claws raised high.

“Yeah!” Sea Hawk called, raising his fists as well. They both brought them down sharply to bump each other, and, on an instinct, on a wonderful intuition, Sea Hawk thrust forward to chest bump her and she did the same. He laughed as he was knocked back two steps, the bulk and weight and strength of her hard to match, but he was Sea Hawk, so he did not go flying anywhere. And Scorpia, she was laughing too.

“Oh, I’m so glad you did that, I could’ve knocked you over.”

Sea Hawk gave her a rowdy punch to the not-spiked portion of her arm, and she swayed on her feet. “I literally _just_ told you, I’m not some delicate flower!”

Scorpia grinned at him, tail waving, but it didn’t feel threatening, not to him. 

“Oh, but you know what is a delicate flower?” Sea Hawk asked, rushing forward a few feet. He spun, a bright red ring of flowers interlaced in a cheerful crown. Scorpia allowed him to place it on her, then chuckled, rubbing self-consciously at her arm.

“I feel ridiculous,” she said honestly. 

“That’s because we haven’t gotten the rest of the outfit up to speed,” Sea Hawk said with confidence, tossing a few coins at the vendor. “Onward; Lobster pal duo is out on a shopping adventure!” he shouted with a spin, finger outstretched in a proud compass-point. 

_“Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!_

_We’re out upon the town!  
Before the sun’s gone down!   
In seeeeeearch of things to wear!”_ Sea Hawk sang, striding forward purposefully.

_“For something that might fit,  
I think that we should quit,  
But maybe—something for my hair?” _Oh Scorpia had the voice of an ANGEL they had to do this more often.

_“Now that’s just the first step!  
Come now, we’re not done yet!  
‘Yes we can,’ I want to hear it!”_ Sea Hawk beckoned her with excited fists, excitement thrumming through his body.

_”I kind of like that top,  
So, maybe let’s not stop?”_

_“HAHA! YES! That’s the spirit!”_ She’d spotted a large beige tanktop with a rose on it, but the rose’s petals, instead of being filled inside the lines with a single color, looked as though rainbow paint splatter had been thrown upon them. It was definitely, absolutely big enough for her.

_”The lobster duo’s on the town!”_

_“And nothing’s going to bring us down!”_

_“So let’s search for something new to weaaaaaaaar!”_ they finished together, arms slung around each other’s backs, Sea Hawk’s fist in the air and Scorpia gently pincing the shirt in her claw.

“Try it on, try it on!” Sea Hawk urged, grabbing a purple shirt with a low-dip neckline and criss-crossing straps over the bust area. He tossed it to her as well, and as he ushered her towards the curtained off section inside the store he nabbed a black turtleneck crop top with no sleeves and a white high-low skirt. 

He sat on the nearby stool, clapping his hands delightedly in front of him with anticipation, and the clerk gave a good-natured snort.   
“So is the singing, just, like, a thing with you?” Scorpia asked from behind the curtain, shuffling around.

“It’s one of my charming personal quirks,” Sea Hawk said, leaning back and nearly falling off the stool when he found nothing to lean on.

“It was fun,” Scorpia said.

“You should be around more often,” Sea Hawk said, “It is rare I find a duet as lively or lovely as yours!”

Scorpia laughed, and came out with the tanktop on. Sea Hawk squeaked and clapped louder. She turned a little, admiring the way it hung off her, glancing at her back in the mirror. The back of the shirt was plain, bare, and Sea Hawk got the feeling that that’s what Scorpia was staring at for a long, thoughtful moment. 

“You like it?” Sea Hawk asked, quieter, bravado gone, and Scorpia nodded, eyes still on the mirror.

“It’s… good. It feels less-wrong than I expected, which, I guess, just means it feels right?”

Sea Hawk smiled at her, and she looked at him, smiling back.

Each time she came from behind the curtain, she looked great. The turtleneck and skirt went perfectly together, but she liked the purple shirt best.

“Is that because it’s purple, or because it flatters you nearly as well as my shirt flatters me?” Sea Hawk asked, posing with a flip of his hair, tit-window front and center.

“Oh, definitely the breasts,” Scorpia said, “It really, really makes mine look good. Like, the tasteful side-boob you can only just sort-of see at the bottom of the dip? I am about that.”

“We can buy it!” Sea Hawk offered excitedly.

“I, I mean, we only just started, if there are other options I might like better I wouldn’t want—”

“Scorpia, Scorpia, Scorpia—” Sea Hawk had to willfully not call her ‘diamond’ or ‘snowflake’ or anything else too forward, even as he grabbed her by the arms and shook her, barely, once, “You can own multiple shirts. I, I _need_ to stress this, you can have more than one. You probably should, actually; I’m fairly certain Entrapta’s the only one who hasn’t changed in a year.”

“Actually, she did, right after we got back from Beast Island. Yeah, she wore one of Glimmer’s robes while her outfit was in the wash and then she—wait, no, you’re right, she was only wearing it because her other outfit was occupied.”

“And while I know you love her dearly, you do not necessarily need to emulate her in this particular aspect.”

Scorpia stared down at the shirt, with its pretty strappy front and the loose sleeves that would just wrinkle (as though intentional) inside of her spiked shoulders, and pulled it slowly closer to her chest. “Yeah, I, I’d like to own this.”

“SUCCESS THE FIRST! Shopkeep! We wish to buy this!”

Scorpia laughed at his theatrics, sweet and charming as the sea upon the painter’s easel, and then grinned at him.

“Lead on, captain inspector pirate! Where to next?”

Scorpia had no interest in shorts or pants, it turned out, trying on exactly one pair of high-waisted shorts before gently refusing the rest. She did like patterned leggings, though, and while shirt options were, admittedly, limited by her shoulders, it wasn’t winter here! She didn’t need long sleeves! And she looked phenomenal in everything she tried. Sea Hawk made no suggestions without some sort of boob window or strappy bit or low neckline, and he had to admire her preferences. As a man of exceptional taste as well, it just made making suggestions all the easier on him.

By the end, they’d found one dress, with a long and billowing skirt and off-the shoulder puff sleeves, a pair of strappy black shoes that clipped on with magnets, not buckles, five shirts, of which a tight black tube top with a heart-shaped bustline was her favorite, and three skirts, involving a red knee-length skirt that had a slit up the side and built-in shorts underneath. Practical for fighting _and_ looking adorable! And, wearing it along with the shoes and shirt, Sea Hawk found the skirt went with her flower crown well.

“Oh!” Sea Hawk said, reminded by the sight of Scorpia’s feet now out in the open. “We need to pick up black nail polish while we’re out; Mermista’s running low.”

“Oh, sure, okay,” Scorpia said agreeably. “Man, there’s just, there’s so much pretty stuff here. I didn’t think this much pretty stuff existed,” Scorpia said, admiring her surroundings. “Well, I mean, I guess I knew, sort of? But, it was usually on the other end of a laser, so. Heh, didn’t really, stick around long enough to be admired,” she said as she scratched at the side of her face.

Sea Hawk reached up, fingers outstretched softly, but.

He wasn’t a coward, and he would hardly classify himself as shy, but it didn’t feel right, not yet, so he placed his hand on her inner shoulder, close to the spikes and her neck but not quite touching either. 

He also did not often find himself at a loss for words, but he wasn’t sure how best to comfort her, from this. He wanted to. He wanted to comfort her, but she’d done bad things. She’d fought with the Horde. She’d hurt people.

But. “You’re not doing that anymore.”

Scorpia took a deep breath, then another, and then touched her claw to Sea Hawk’s wrist and smiled.

“Yeah. Moving forward, right?”

“Being better than our previous selves is a journey we must _all_ undertake,” Sea Hawk said meaningfully. “The past can be embarrassing, or, shameful,” he said, thinking on the friends he’d had to leave behind due to his own careless actions and thoughtlessness, “But we learn from it, we feel it, and then we let it go.”

Sea Hawk pulled his hand from her shoulder and met her other claw as it came up to clasp it, and Scorpia gave a firm nod.

“Now, let’s go find some nail polish! Also, would you like any while we’re out? I could do it for you if you wanted.”

“That would be nice. Maybe red?”

“We have the ability to buy multiple colors,” he reminded.

“Black and indigo, too, would be nice,” she said, pleased, and Sea Hawk “Haha!”ed with a sparkle to his mustache.

While Sea Hawk grabbed Mermista’s favorite brand of nail polish from the back of the store they entered, Scorpia focused on the accessories towards the front.

“Like them?” Sea Hawk asked, four bottles of polish and a tube of black lipstick in his hands, staring at the jewelry with her.

“No, no, no way, you have bought me enough stuff, I don’t need jewelry too. No.”

“Scorpia, Mermista regularly spoils me and I am the best sailor this side of Galebreath. I am not hurting for funds.”

“But you’ve already—”

“Shush!” Sea Hawk said with a firm finger to her lips. “Don’t you go putting words in my mouth. If you don’t want them, I won’t buy them, but if you do, I do not mind getting them for you and you don’t get to decide what I do and do not do with my extravagantly deep pockets.”

Scorpia snorted, then giggled. “If you say that too loud you’re gonna get robbed.”

“And who could rob me, Sea Hawk? Especially when I am in such impressive company?”

“I thought you were trying to convince me that I don’t scare people off,” Scorpia said with an arched eyebrow.

“What I meant to imply was that you have my back, too.”

Scorpia stood a little straighter, blush dusting her cheeks, and then she smiled at him, tension in her shoulders unwinding. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

“So! Earrings, maybe?”

“They’re, uh, a little hard to maneuver with my claws,” Scorpia admitted, “The ones I had in the Horde were hand-me-downs from my family, they had metal backs and magnets? So, more like, pinching the ear. I don’t technically have my ears pierced, even, but, I mean, pfft, it’s just one little hole, so it’s not like I couldn’t.”

“Say, clerk! Do you have any clip ons?” Sea Hawk called, and the teen employee looked up from his book long enough to point them in the direction of the small display. Only one tree of earrings, but still, the option was there.

“Alright, this one has screws on the back, so that’s out,” Sea Hawk muttered to himself as he picked through them, looking for something Scorpia could wear. 

“How about these?” Scorpia said, and Sea Hawk looked across the display. Magnetized backs. The backs were a little small, so Scorpia would still likely have to fuss with them to get them on, but a far cry better than the thin metal pokes most earrings had. They were red, too, half-spheres on top, and then dangling long crystals attached by a little metal ring to the tops.

“Oh Scorpia those are perfect!” Sea Hawk announced, lifting one and slipping the magnet behind her ear lobe. Scorpia handed him the second one, and he placed that one on too, something pleased and fuzzy in his chest. As she admired herself in the tiny jewelry mirror, Sea Hawk felt a surge of pride. He’d helped make this happen. 

“So,” Scorpia said after they left the accessories shop, “If you’re still down for buying me things, I could really go for whatever I’m smelling right now.”

Sea Hawk sniffed the air and agreed heartily. He bought them both a kebab, then some lemon mint tea from another vendor, and then the two of them were deep into the food area of the shopping district, trying everything. They didn’t slow down, full feelings rolling through them with heavy food and good drink, until they’d tried nearly everything they could see.

“Ahhh, what time is it?” Scorpia asked, glancing at the shadows they cast. “Oh, shoot, has it really been three hours already?”

“Probably, since I neither remember when we left, or what time it is now!”

“If we’re gonna nap we should head back. We’ve only got two hours left. Less, probably.”

“Oh, is that when we’re supposed to regroup?”

“Mm-hm.” Scorpia took a deep breath and smiled. “Hey,” she said, elbowing him.

“Mm?”

“Thanks. Not, not just for all the stuff, though thank you, so much, for that. Like, seriously, thank you so much. But, for this, in a general sense. I was… agitated, after the fight. I think I really needed this.”

The fight probably wasn’t the only reason Scorpia needed this, but Sea Hawk couldn’t really vocalize that, so he just slugged her on her impressively muscled bicep and thumbs upped at her.

“I could say the same to you. I must admit my rugged composure was a little more rugged and a little less composed than I generally like for myself. And this was fun! Mermista doesn’t like taking me along on these sorts of things, she’s more of an in-and-out kind of lass.”

“Well, next time you wanna do something like this, all you have to do is ask,” Scorpia said with a smile. “This was really, really nice.”

“I agree!”

“To Bright Moon castle!” Scorpia called, propping her foot up on a bench and pointing impressively with her claw. Sea Hawk gasped in unbridled delight, then mirrored her on a matching bench across the street.

“To the castle!” he echoed, vibrating with delight. Scorpia laughed and hooked an arm around his neck, but he was too excited to even laugh. He just. She just!!! His diamond was conducting an entire ballet behind his ribs and he was speechless with it. 

Yeah, he’d needed this too.

They chatted amicably as they entered the castle, Sea Hawk regaling her with a tale of one of his many heroic exploits, Scorpia listening(!) attentively(!!) and showing genuine interest in what he had to say(!!!). She laughed at a particularly witty joke he cracked (see, Mermista and Glimmer had both said that joke was dumb! Even Swift Wind thought it was dumb! Well, joke’s on them, because Scorpia thought he was funny!) and they climbed up the stairs, Sea Hawk riding the high of _this._

“And then, after swinging by the rapidly-fraying rope of the—Scorpia?” he asked, turning around. She’d stopped walking, staring at her own reflection in the thick glass of one of the shining murals of the castle halls. Her lips were parted, eyes wide, like she was looking at a ghost. Then she burst into tears.

“Oh, oh no, why, what’s wrong?” Sea Hawk asked, voice pitched high with new panic. He rushed to her, hands coming to her shoulder and bicep, staring at her face, and she shook her head, claw in front of her mouth.

“It’s just. I. I’m happy,” Scorpia said, “This is happy crying, sorry, I’m just.”

“Ah, Scorpia,” Sea Hawk said, turning her gently and opening his arms. She scooped him up without hesitation, and Sea Hawk melted. She gave _really_ good hugs.

“I just. I spent my whole life thinking that,” Scorpia swallowed, and Sea Hawk pet her hair, “that I wasn’t—that I couldn’t—” 

She choked on a sob, and it was the most natural thing in the world for Sea Hawk to rest his palm gently on her face and croon out “Shooooosh.”

He found the hug suddenly tighter, constricting, but, again, he was no delicate flower. He held her tightly too, stroking her forehead, cupping her cheek, shooshing her. It… probably wasn’t all happy crying. But that was okay. Sea Hawk would hold her and shush her for as long as she needed. He wanted to do this for her.

“All my life,” Scorpia gasped, “I was, told that, that princesses are bad. I, you know, I got told I was an exception, as long as I was loyal to the Horde, but.” Scorpia hiccupped and Sea Hawk gently moved her flower crown onto his own head so he could pet her hair a little easier. “I couldn’t, well, no one, nobody was allowed to, to like, frilly stuff. Dresses and shiny things and, and princess-y stuff. It. I. You had to be tough,” Scorpia sobbed and choked on it, needing a moment to catch her breath. “You had to be tough as nails, no nice words or pretty feelings or pretty things. And I was told I would never fit in with the other princesses anyway, that I was better in the Horde, even though, I wanted.” Sea Hawk shooshed her again and urged her to take a deep breath. “I wanted to feel pretty! I wanted to make friends, and wear dresses, and I paid a _lot_ more attention to my hair and makeup than I should have. I was weak for wanting it, I was _wrong_ for wanting it.”

“Oh, Scorpia,” Sea Hawk intoned, squeezing her as hard as he could for a moment.

“And now I’m here!” she said with a wet laugh, “And you’re all so nice to me, and I actually really feel just, this _wonderful_ sense of belonging here. Fighting feels better when it’s to protect people, and sparring is _fun_ when we’re doing it just-because, and I’m learning so many strange new things but,” Scorpia took another gasping breath, then a deeper one, “it’s all so nice! Everything is just so nice, here, and the people are so nice to me, and I feel _really pretty!”_

“You _are_ pretty!” Sea Hawk encouraged, “And you do belong here!” He wiggled out of her hold and cupped her cheeks in both hands, looking her in the eye. “Scorpia, you belong with us, and we want you here. Not just because you’re a beast on the battlefield or because you share rank with the others. You’re a _good person,_ Scorpia,” Sea Hawk said, his own eyes feeling misty, “A good _friend._ And I like you.”

Scorpia laughed again, still crying, and Sea Hawk joined in on both, their foreheads bumping and hair poofs fluffing together.

“I like you too,” Scorpia said, sniffling loudly.

“Scorpia,” Sea Hawk said, nerves fluttering, “I know we met at Princess Prom, and I know we spent a hilarious time together as I pretended to inspect things, but even though we’d met before: what happened in the Northern Reach, that felt serendipitous.”

Scorpia’s breath caught. 

Her claws came to Sea Hawk’s shoulders, but she made no move to remove his palms from her face, which was rapidly heating up.

“It did?” she asked, quiet.

“To me.”

“It… did, didn’t it?” she asked, half to herself, “And I… really like talking to you, Sea Hawk.”

“And I like listening to you. I like how you listen to me too.”

Scorpia and Sea Hawk shared a smile, diamonds fluttering just beneath their boob windows.

“Wait, so, does that make us moirails?” Scorpia asked, and Sea Hawk finally removed his hands to proudly prop them on his hips, chest thrust forward with bravado.

“I’d say it does! Huzzah!!!”

Scorpia laughed and picked him up in another hug, spinning him around, and he hugged back just as fiercely, laughing as well.

“Alright, now that we’re done with all the private and intimate feelings stuff, let’s get out of this public hallway, huh?” Scorpia joked, and Sea Hawk allowed himself to be carried to Scorpia’s room, which had been a prison cell which had been a spare room but now! Scorpia! Haha! 

Actually, come to think of it, the women in Sea Hawk’s life had a real habit of carrying him around, didn’t they?

“Oh, oh, Sea Hawk, I just thought of the best thing,” Scorpia said excitedly, moving to the balcony.

“What?”

“We’re the lobster- _pale_ -duo! Get it?”

By the seas she was so perfect.

“That’s _brilliant!”_ he lauded.

“I know!” she said excitedly, setting him down on the bench. She sat next to him, and he leaned into her excitedly, buzzing at the fact that she was his _diamond_ now. They were in diamonds. For real!

“You know, this is probably the best day of my life,” Scorpia stated, breeze tousling her hair.

“I’ll admit, it’s in the rankings for mine,” Sea Hawk said as he put her flower crown back on her.

“I think the last time I was this genuinely happy was in the Northern Reach, actually,” Scorpia said. “You were there for part of it, I finally,” she made an “umph” gesture with her claws, “started standing up for myself. And Entrapta and I made hot cocoa in tiny mugs, and Catra—”

Sea Hawk watched her demeanor fall, bold lines of her body sinking, not with relief or relaxation, but with a heavy weight.

“...In the Northern Reach, Adora rather summed up how we all feel about Catra on this side of the war,” Sea Hawk started, pulling a leg up onto the bench and leaning an arm on it, “what’s she really like?”

Scorpia stared out over the Whispering Woods a long, quiet moment. “She’s mean,” she eventually said. It sounded like the most damning thing in Etheria, coming out of Scorpia’s mouth. “She’s ruthless. She’ll hurt people to get her way.” Scorpia swallowed audibly. “But. She’s also brilliant. She, she’s crafty. She’s so smart, and cunning, and ambitious. She’s got this real impressive… everything, about her. She wants, so badly, to prove herself, prove her worth.” Scorpia was tearing up again, and Sea Hawk pet her back slowly. “She gets seasick really easily. She hates mice and broke every mechanical mouse Entrapta ever built. Her ears twitch when she’s excited or curious, and when she’s sleepy her tail drags along the floor. When she’s feeling gloomy she’ll climb the west tower and perch on the hand railing, and she’s got abandonment issues the size of a moon.” Scorpia’s leg bounced and she looked away, lips pressed thin a moment, then ducked her head, then looked back out at the Woods. “She was really, strong? Confident? Admirable. She… meant a lot to me,” Scorpia took a deep breath, and wiped at her face. “I just didn’t mean a lot to her.”

“Unrequited feelings pierce deeply,” Sea Hawk said, “Especially when the person they’re for is… mean.”

Scorpia hiccuped around another sob. “I really loved her,” she said, biting her lower lip again, chin wobbling. “I really did. I don’t know if it was flush or pale—it was red, I know that much. But. I really, really loved her.”

Scorpia pulled her into a hug and let her dampen his other shoulder as she cried into it. He had no words of reassurance, for this. No comfort he could speak. He just held her and rode it out, shooshing her quietly, stroking her back.

Sobbing turned to crying, crying turned to sniffling, and sniffling turned into one big, heaving sigh.

“I’ve been crying a lot, lately.”

“I get the feeling you’ve been needing it,” Sea Hawk said. He pulled back, just a smidge, and cupped her face with one palm, kissing her cheek. She bonped their foreheads together again and then sat up straight. She looked out at the sky and then down at her own shadow. 

“Think if we started a nap now, we’d wake up before it’s time to head back?” Scorpia asked.

“Maybe, maybe not. What I know for a fact is that if we aren’t there in time, Adora will come get us,” he said confidently, standing and offering his hand. She took it and stood and the two went inside, collapsing in a pile of cushions.

They snored loudly, both of them drooling. That was, in fact, where Adora found them, over an hour later.

**Author's Note:**

> Dumbasses in love is a very good genre but dumbasses in PALE love? That right there's my shit.
> 
> Comments/Concrit ALWAYS welcome! Please tell me your thoughts!


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